Suspensions, such as vehicle suspensions, typically include a motion control arm, such as a spring leaf, interposed between a mass suspending structure, such as a vehicle axle, and a frame member, such as a vehicle chassis. Various brackets have been proposed for connecting motion control arms to different types of frame members.
One type of bracket is a one piece cast bracket with two legs or flanges. The purpose of the legs is to transmit operating loads from a suspension to a frame member. A disadvantage of a cast type bracket with two cast legs is that it is relatively expensive due to a secondary machining operation that is required to provide the necessary spacing between the cast legs. This relatively precise spacing is required in order to install a suspension's motion control arm end.
Another type of bracket is a one-piece fabricated bracket with two legs or flanges formed from sheetmetal. A disadvantage of this type of bracket is that the fabricated bracket's legs are not as efficient at transmitting lateral operating loads as cast brackets of similar design, since the fabricated type of bracket is less stiff.